The Road meets Life Is Beautiful meets Panic Room?

Little-known director Lenny Abrahamson (Frank, What Richard Did) may have just quietly crafted the most beautifully disturbing and profoundly affecting movie of 2015. As I was writing my review for Steve Jobs yesterday, I was trying to remember the last time I was moved to the point of tears while watching a movie. Ironically, while Steve Jobs brought out almost no emotion in me, two of director Danny Boyle’s previous films (Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours) had a profound and lasting impact on me and my life. Those two movies were near perfect, in my opinion. While Abrahamson’s Room is by no means perfect, it is rich, intelligent, gut-wrenching, and unfortunately, it is a little too real.

I will provide spoilers for this movie because it is too important a film not to discuss deeply. I will let you know when these spoilers do occur so you can keep reading for now if you haven’t seen this movie. What I will assume is that you’ve watched the trailer. If you have not, watch the trailer now or do what I did and see the movie. But I would do one of these two things before continuing with this review. I didn’t know how much of an impact Room would have on me going in. I knew a little bit about the film going in. I didn’t know how little I knew. This movie will be on many critic end-of-year top 10 lists and will get some severe Academy Award nominations. I hope that more moviegoers will give this movie a chance. Is it slow? Yes, it is not The Avengers. Is it more important than The Avengers? Yes, it’s like 1000 times more important than that money hog. It might be the most important movie of 2015. It might be one of the most important movies of the last decade. When lesser movies would have stopped, Room stepped full-throttle on the pedal. This is a challenging film to digest, and it will feel uncomfortable at times for many moviegoers. While not currently my favorite movie of 2015 (it’s currently #2 for me), this is the best movie that has been made this year.

Act I

First things first. Jack (Jacob Tremblay – Before I Wake, Shut In) is a boy. Even though he looks and sounds like a girl, he is a boy. Jack is not short for Jackie. I swear I was an hour and a half into this movie, and I wasn’t sure if Jack was a boy or a girl. I honestly believed that they called her him for reasons only known to Ma/Joy (Brie Larson – Short Term 12, Rampart). Larson is a lock for a Best Actress Academy Award nomination, and, honestly, it’s going to take something magical from winning this award. But, my gosh, was this the performance of the year. I’ll say this a couple of times, but Room is two different movies in one, and both are needed to be as successful as it was. And what do you need for this to occur? Will you want the fallout from the movie’s first half to be reflected in the second half. And boy is it. Larson’s change from Act 1 to Act 2 is nothing short of masterful. While the first half of this movie is really a joint vehicle being driven by Tremblay and Larson, the second half is all Larson and mesmerizing (see spoilers below).

If you’ve seen the previews (I did not go in), you’ll know the movie’s basic premise. Unfortunately, the trend these days seems to give away too much of a film in its previews. Ma and Jack are being held captive in a ten-foot by ten-foot room. It is Jack’s fifth birthday, and we learn that Ma has been there for seven years. Her captor has kept her in this tiny room that serves as a prison cell. On the inside, it looks like a tiny studio apartment. It has the minimum things that Ma and Jack need to survive. There is a bed, a small refrigerator, a toaster, a sink, a toilet. There is also a single skylight that provides the only glimpse of any sort of outside world. Their captor (Old Nick), who, by doing the math, is also Jack’s biological father, visits during the night regularly to rape Joy repeatedly while Jack “sleeps” in a tiny wardrobe. Old Nick brings food and any other supplies that the two need to survive, and he doesn’t seem to leave on most nights after having forced Joy to have sex with him. Instead, he’ll sleep for a little while and then go sometime during the night. At that point, Ma brings Jack back to the big bed.

We don’t know the entirety of the situation at the start of the film. The events that led Ma and Jack to where they are unveil themselves over time. What we get instead is Ma creating a world for Jack that exists only within that Room. Intellectually, Jack seems slightly behind where you would expect a 5-year-old to be. Physically, he is much worse. There is only so much exercise that they can do in such a limited space. But Ma does whatever she can to make sure these constraints don’t impact her son’s growth. This is the only world Jack has ever known. He doesn’t know what he is missing. He has excellent communication skills and is a happy little boy because of his mother. Tremblay probably earns himself a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination for this role. He won’t win, but to be up there with what is sure to be some big names is recognition enough. Abrahamson took this little actor and allowed anyone willing to give his film a chance to fall in love with this kid. So how do Ma and Jack fill their days? They eat. They read. They exercise. They watch television on perhaps the world’s worst tv. They take baths together. And they tell each other how much they love one another. And when night comes, Old Nick shows up, does his thing, and leaves. And the day repeats itself. We see the world through young Jack’s eyes.

Act II

Again, I’m not spoiling anything that wasn’t already shown in the previews. The movie could have been over when Jack does escape and Joy reunites with her parents. It could have been a movie about survival and escape. The first hour was, and as memorable as it was, what will stick with you will be the second half. How will Jack learn to live in a world he never knew existed? How will Joy readjust to society? What sort of detrimental effects will seven years of solitude have on her? When she returns to her childhood home for the first time, she sees her room is exactly how she left it. And this wise woman that we’ve learned all about was a 16 or 17-year-old kid the last time she had been a part of society. She has the same posters and clippings that any teenage girl might have on her walls. It is heartbreaking. And then to be a spectator as Joy slowly unravels as she tries to come to terms with the last seven years of her life was difficult for me. Everything is not okay. Yes, she is free physically, but somebody ruined her life, and she has to try to make sense of it all. She has to deal with the police, doctors, psychologists, the media, her family, and even Jack. We feel her strain and begin to worry for her. This is where, in my opinion, Larson won herself an Oscar. I cannot see anybody bringing out more realistic raw emotion in audiences this year. The critics will recognize and reward this with at least a nomination. I fear this film will not bring enough film-goers to the theater, which would be a real shame. This movie is too powerful and too important not to see.

***Spoilers***

There were some problems with this film. The first was the Room itself. It’s not that this shed was in the middle of what looked to be a moderately active neighborhood. It’s that it was a shed in a moderately active neighborhood for seven years being visited on a nightly (or maybe weekly or biweekly…they never really truly say) basis for seven years by a man who didn’t live anywhere close who used a security key to get in and who came and left at odd hours of the night. Secondly, it seemed like the only time in seven years that she tried anything to hurt her captor was when she hit him with the top piece of a toilet that resulted in him breaking her wrist. It is made known that if she kills Old Nick, they will be stuck in the room with no way to get out (not knowing the passcode) and no means of getting and future supplies. However, we (the audience) and Ma and Jack have no idea where they are at the time. They could think they were in the middle of the woods somewhere. Nonetheless, I think you’d take that risk. Old Nick didn’t just come to rape Ma, though that was always his primary purpose. He slept a few hours there while Jack slept in the wardrobe. I would think at some point that you would try to slice his throat with something. I understand that she will not overpower the man, but I think other things could be done to disable or kill him permanently. At that point, I did feel like there were enough materials in the room to escape somehow. I don’t have the answers. It just felt like they could have tried some other things. I did appreciate the fact that they spent portions of their day screaming at the top of their lungs for minutes on end to see if there was anyone near who could hear them. I think that this was my biggest overall problem. Another issue I had was that Old Nick never saw Jack in five years? A ten-foot by ten-foot room with a small wardrobe is the only spot where you can have privacy? Five years? Come on. But because the film was so great in other areas, we can overcome this with ease.

There are a couple of significant themes in this movie. The first is that just because we physically escape a trying event in our lives doesn’t mean we can ever escape the emotional trauma. When this movie was an hour old and Jack had escaped and was soon reunited with Ma, I wondered what the heck the second half was going to be about. I had no idea it would turn into what it turned into. And this is where Abrahamson excelled. Have I mentioned that this was the same man who directed the movie Frank just a year ago? Though liberated from the confines of that tiny Room, the emotional toll on Frank and particularly Ma was just beginning. The exasperation of being freed, followed by the mass hysteria of their story, followed by the depression of losing seven years of her life while everyone else got to live normally, proved to be too much for Ma at times. And Larson brought that out in grand fashion. And again, thank you, Abrahamson, for devoting an hour to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). And props to A-List actors Joan Allen (The Candidate, Nixon) and William H. Macy (Fargo, The Cooler) for agreeing to be part of this movie even though they didn’t get any screen time until the last 45 minutes. Allen played Nancy, Ma’s mother, while Macy played Robert, her father. Allen was particularly effective as a woman trying to do the best for the daughter she thought she forever lost and the grandson that she believed she never had. These are traumatic events that most people, fortunately, will never have to experience. But, like with any major life-changing event for the worse, you can’t prepare for it. All you can do is adapt to the situation and try to be the best person. This is Allen’s best work since her incredible performance in The Candidate.

Another theme in this movie is that trials and tribulations often show who rises to the occasion and disappears. Nancy rises in the call of duty, along with her partner Leo (Tom McCamus – The Claim, Last Night), an unsung hero in this film. He wasn’t in the picture before Joy disappeared, so he might be the first to say “I’m outta here” when this new life-changing event arises. But, instead, he does the opposite. He nurtures Jack, loves Nancy, and tries to do whatever he can for Joy. He’s a behind-the-scenes kind of guy who doesn’t seek the spotlight and finds courage when Joy’s father, Robert, can’t deal with the events and decides to leave. His patient approach slowly allows Jack to trust in someone else besides his mother. I also have to give it up to Macy for portraying such a weak character. This film certainly didn’t need an actor of his caliber because of the knockout performances delivered by everyone else, but it certainly did not hurt. His portrayal as Robert made Nancy and Leo look that much more robust, and that was exactly what Abrahamson was after.

Finally, there is Old Jack himself. Sean Bridgers (Sweet Home Alabama, The Woman), every person who sees this movie is going to hate you because you did such a fantastic job as Joy’s ruthless captor. You committed one of the most hideous crimes imaginable, and you kept the act up for seven years. While there is a lot of grey in just about every actor in every movie, there is none with Old Jack. You forget Room is a movie sometimes because of how plausible it is. People disappear all too frequently. If one person is held against their will, that is one person too many. But this is 2015, and we know that some sick people out there do terrible things, and Old Jack exemplifies that. The next time I see Bridgers on screen, I know I will be taken right back to Room and again try to think if there is a character in recent cinema that could affect me in such a disturbing way as he did. You did a great job in your role, Bridgers, but I don’t think I’ll be rushing to see your next film anytime soon.

Perhaps the movie of the year. 2015 is well on its way to being the best movie year since 2010 (when I began my blog). While Sicario, Ex-Machina, and The Gift were movies that I loved and will be movies I watch again, the impact Room had on me was nothing like anything I’ve experienced in years. In just two hours, I was on the verge of tears on multiple occasions, I was angry at the world for being so cruel with such awful human beings, and I saw how beautiful this same world could be when filled with love. Room hits us from all angles and never lets up. While certain films would convince you that you should be grateful once you are saved from an awful situation, and that life is about to get infinitely better, Room reminds us that this is far from the case. Joy is free physically, but she suffers from depression and an inability to relate to the world that had left her for seven years. It’s almost as if we are going through PTSD with her, and we care immensely that she comes out a survivor. We hope for the same about Jack, but even though his life is far different too, we get the sense that he will probably be okay. We don’t know about his mother.

***End of Spoilers***

Room is amazing. If you are a film purist, this movie was made for you. If you are like me and try to see everything you can see, I cannot think of a film that has come out or will come out in the remainder of 2015 that will have a more lasting impact on your life. There will be Oscar buzz for best movie, best screenplay,  Abrahamson, Tremblay, and, absolutely, Larson. If there is any justice, Larson should win for Best Actress.

Plot 10/10 (totally riveting)
Character Development 10/10 (absolutely incredible)
Character Chemistry 10/10 (Larson and Tremblay steal the show, but Allen, McCamus, and Bridgers give meaningful supporting performances in their limited screen time) 
Acting 10/10 (there will be no movie this year with better performances from every single one of its characters)
Screenplay 10/10 (screenwriter Emma Donoghue…you have arrived in the grandest of fashion)
Directing  10/10 (The fact that Abrahamson went from the dreadful Frank to this is a true testament to his well-roundedness as a director)
Cinematography 10/10 (the close-ups are incredibly effective…and that room…)
Sound 10/10 (so many compelling moments of silence)
Hook and Reel 10/10 (know you’re going in for something slow that requires your attention to build emotion, and you’ll be fine)
Universal Relevance 10/10 (I truly hope that nobody will ever have to relate to the first half of the movie…the second half of the film will seem all too familiar to many of us)
100%

Movies You Might Like If You Liked This Movie

• The Road
• I’m Not Scared
• Misery
• Gone Baby Gone
• Along Came a Spider